Pilgangoora officially opens

According to Mining News Pro -The official opening of the mine comes four years since the first drill hole, and first product shipment was achieved in October this year, owner Pilbara Minerals said on Friday.

This is a very proud day for Pilbara Minerals,” said MD and CEO Ken Brinsden.

“Every milestone achieved from exploration through to production and first shipment since we completed our first drill hole back in November 2014 is a testament to our great people and project partners.

The significant upfront investment we made in building the resource base and in designing and engineering all aspects of the Pilgangoora project to the highest possible standards has allowed us to complete the construction phase and move seamlessly into commissioning and ramp-up with remarkably few delays or hiccups for a project of this scale and complexity.”

The Pilbara board earlier this month approved the Stage 2 expansion of the Pilgangoora project, which will see an additional three-million-tonne-a-year processing circuit added to the existing Stage 1 operation, taking the project capacity to five-million tonnes a year.

The Stage 2 expansion will increase production from 314 000 t/y, to between 800 000 t/y and 850 000 t/y of high-quality spodumene concentrate over a mine life of 17 years.